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Univer
Joined: 30 Jun 2009 Posts: 282
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 3:58 pm Post subject: Your Opinion: Used 1DS as Full-Frame Option |
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Univer wrote:
Hi All,
I'm thinking about another digital-body purchase, and, as usual, I would love to have the benefit of the community's experience before proceeding.
I'm primarily a Pentax shooter, and I assume that I will always own a K-mount digital body. But I would very much like to have full-frame capability. Following the Ricoh acquisition of the Pentax brand, the eventual introduction of a FF Pentax seems marginally more likely, although such an event - in my view - is still probably a year or two off. And that seems like a long time to wait.
Accordingly, I've been considering a used 5DMkII as a FF body. But if there really is a realistic prospect of a FF Pentax under Ricoh's stewardship, then I would like to spend as little as possible on what will be, for practical purposes, a stopgap FF body. That way I can mentally allocate more funds to the future purchase of that Pentax FF, when and if it arrives.
So I'm now wondering about a used 1DS (the first version). The price for a 1DS body (from a reputable dealer, with a warranty) has dropped to a point where a reasonable case can be made for that alternative.
I acknowledge, of course, that the 1DS represents more-or-less antiquated technology, at least in the fast-paced realm of digital imaging ("antiquated" is a relative term for me, since I'd be using the body with plenty of sixty-year-old lenses). But in absolute terms, the IQ of the 1DS images I've seen has been excellent, and I'm confident its 11MP would be adequate for my purposes. I know that the 1DS is a large, heavy camera, but I used to shoot a Pentax 6x7 fairly regularly, and I often work on a tripod, so that's a non-issue. Lack of video and ultra-high ISO performance are also irrelevant for me; I'm more likely to shoot at the custom-menu ISO 50 setting than I am ISO 800. And I gather that the 1DS is more hospitable to older lenses, in terms of mirror clearance, than the 5D; that's a powerful "plus" for me, since I will probably never mount anything but an old MF lens to this camera.
But I do have some other concerns.
I've been informed by a repairperson who works extensively on Canon bodies that shutter parts for the 1DS are no longer available from Canon. While third-party parts are available, the fact remains that the labor costs for a shutter replacement, according to this gentleman, would be in the neighborhood of US$300 - a non-trivial sum. And since any 1DS will have been a professional's camera, the shutter of such a camera may be nearing the end of its useful life. (Takes me back to the old days, when you had the same concerns about buying a used Hasselblad.)
My old eyes aren't what they used to be, and I find that I focus using live view (or the zoom function of my Panasonic G1) on a semi-regular basis. I know the 1DS lacks this feature, but I also know that it has a bright, large viewfinder. Still, I haven't used a film SLR in quite a while, so I'm definitely out of practice when it comes to unaided focusing the "old fashioned" way. I'm wondering whether I'll find this specific omission frustrating.
And those are just the potential issues I know about.
So what do you think? For someone who wants to add a full-frame body, knowing that it won't necessarily be a long-term solution, is a 1DS a reasonable option? Is there a price ceiling above which you wouldn't go? Would it make more sense to pay (almost exactly) double for a 1DSII?
Thanks, as always, for your help!
Cheers,
Jon |
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poilu
Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 10472 Location: Greece
Expire: 2019-08-29
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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poilu wrote:
if you think Ricoh may soon make a FF Pentax
my advice is to use film
it is fun and you will use your lenses to the max
and you will enjoy big viewfinder _________________ T* |
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yinyangbt
Joined: 08 Oct 2010 Posts: 1973 Location: Romania
Expire: 2012-12-27
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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yinyangbt wrote:
poilu wrote: |
if you think Ricoh may soon make a FF Pentax
my advice is to use film
it is fun and you will use your lenses to the max
and you will enjoy big viewfinder |
If you have good labs around , I am with poilu . In fact I have 4 film SLR s _________________ Cheers , Teo
http://photo.net/photodb/member-photos?user_id=5778915 |
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peterqd
Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 7448 Location: near High Wycombe, UK
Expire: 2014-01-04
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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peterqd wrote:
poilu wrote: |
if you think Ricoh may soon make a FF Pentax
my advice is to use film
it is fun and you will use your lenses to the max
and you will enjoy big viewfinder |
Absolutely - great advice - and you can keep faith with Pentax too. _________________ Peter - Moderator |
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ManualFocus-G
Joined: 29 Dec 2008 Posts: 6622 Location: United Kingdom
Expire: 2014-11-24
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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ManualFocus-G wrote:
I'd buy a used 5D instead. From what I have read (I looked into one previously) the 1DS has poor high ISO (only goes up to 1250 anyway), very slow operation, tiny and low resolution rear LCD, expensive batteries and it's a big camera. The 5D will cost you about £100.00 more but would be worth it. _________________ Graham - Moderator
Shooter of choice: Fujifilm X-T20 with M42, PB and C/Y lenses
See my Flickr photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/manualfocus-g |
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Jesito
Joined: 24 Aug 2007 Posts: 5745 Location: Olivella, Catalonia, (Spain)
Expire: 2015-01-07
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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Jesito wrote:
ManualFocus-G wrote: |
I'd buy a used 5D instead. From what I have read (I looked into one previously) the 1DS has poor high ISO (only goes up to 1250 anyway), very slow operation, tiny and low resolution rear LCD, expensive batteries and it's a big camera. The 5D will cost you about £100.00 more but would be worth it. |
Fully agree. Besides this, the pseudo-RAW format of the 1DS is put into bad named .TIF files. Lightroom nor most common photo tools understand properly the format, and you have to convert it to something more standard to start working.
Batteries, besides being big and expensive are not LiIon but NiMH that means more difficult caring and the need to perform discharge-recharge cycles quite often. (This is done by the charger itself). Charging is slow, batteries weight a lot...
Much better option the classical 5D, and even better, the above recommendation of using film.
Regards.
Jes. _________________ Jesito, Moderator
Jesito's backsack:
Zooms Sigma 70-300, Tamron 35-135 and 70-210 short, 70-210 long, 28-70 CF Macro, 35-70, 35-80, Vivitar 70-210 KA, Tamron 70-250.
Fixed Industar-50, , Tamron 24mm, Tamron 135mm, Sands Hunter 135mm, Pancolar 50mm, Volna-3, many Exakta lenses
DSLR SIGMA SD9 & SD14, EOS 5D, Sony A700 and NEXF3, Oly E-330, E-400, E-450, E-1
TLR/6x6/645 YashicaMat, Petri 6x45, Nettar, Franka Solida, Brilliant
SLR Minolta X300, Fuji STX II, Praktica VLC3, Pentax P30t, EXA500, EXA 1A, Spotmatic(2), Chinon CM-4S, Ricoh, Contax, Konica TC-X , Minolta 5000, 7000i, 3Sxi, EOS 500 and CX
Rangefinders Chinon 35EE, Konica C35 auto, Canonet 28, Yashica Lynx, FED-2, Yashica electro 35, Argus C3 & C4, Regula Cita III, Voigtlander Vitoret (many), Welta Welti-I, Kodak Signette 35, Zorki-4, Bessa-R & L, Minolta Weathermatic, olympus XA2
Compact Film Konica C35V, Voigtlander Vitorets, Canon Prima Super 105, Olympus XA2 and XA3
Compact Digital Olympus C-5050, Aiptek Slim 3000, Canon Powershot A540, Nikon 5200, SIGMA DP1s, Polaroid X530, IXUS55, Kodak 6490, Powershot G9 and G10
CSCCanon EOS-M, Samsung NX100 and NX210, Lumix G5, NEX-F3 |
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Rolf
Joined: 02 May 2009 Posts: 4123 Location: NRW/Germany
Expire: 2015-12-26
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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Rolf wrote:
You should wait until next year when 1DS X will be on the market. Could be that newer 1DSMKIIn or perhaps MKIII will go down. You said it by yourself "1DS is more-or-less antiquated technology". Save the money and wait few month.
_________________ Rolf |
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martinsmith99
Joined: 31 Aug 2008 Posts: 6950 Location: S Glos, UK
Expire: 2013-11-18
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:13 am Post subject: |
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martinsmith99 wrote:
I'd avoid both the 1D and the 5D; they are old, clunky, slow, poor lcd, poor menus and the 5D seems to be a dust magnet.
Either buy a film camera with better viewfinder and learn to develop your own film, or raise the cash for a leter FF DSLR. _________________ Casual attendance these days |
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trev
Joined: 30 Jun 2010 Posts: 580 Location: North Wales - UK
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:52 am Post subject: |
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trev wrote:
While you're saving for a ff dslr, how about a used Canon eos 1n in the meantime? Super fast autofocus, superb handling, build quality to die for, 100% viewfinder, 5 fps and very very cheap at the moment. _________________ Fuji X10, X-A1 and Samsung nx 20 |
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Univer
Joined: 30 Jun 2009 Posts: 282
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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Univer wrote:
Thanks, all! Plenty of good advice (as always), and a lot to think about.
Any thoughts on the 1DSMkII as a "stopgap" camera? Or should I just wait for a reasonably priced used 5DMkII, and have it over with? (Assuming one comes my way before Ricoh 'plugs the gap in the market' with a FF Pentax.)
Cheers,
Jon |
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stingOM
Joined: 27 Sep 2007 Posts: 3168 Location: Ireland
Expire: 2012-12-27
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:19 pm Post subject: |
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stingOM wrote:
Univer wrote: |
Thanks, all! Plenty of good advice (as always), and a lot to think about.
Any thoughts on the 1DSMkII as a "stopgap" camera? Or should I just wait for a reasonably priced used 5DMkII, and have it over with? (Assuming one comes my way before Ricoh 'plugs the gap in the market' with a FF Pentax.)
Cheers,
Jon |
Hi Jon,
I have been down this road many times like you. As a former owner of 5D, my advise would be that if you need seek instant gratification, then go FF digital now. Otherwise, stick with FF film cameras until you have the funds. I would say it is definitely worth the wait for the 1-DX to come out next year, so by then there would be many trading in, and the prices of these cameras should drop further I am sure.
Unless the price of 1Ds is super cheap, don't go for it. Instead buy the 5D MKII.
You need to decide if resolution, high ISO and high frame rate is really that important to you, then make your decision (Nikon D3/D700 vs EOS 5D II/1D MKIII 1.3x crop)
Owning the latest and the greatest piece of kit does not necessary make you a better photographer. To capture that magical shot is all about light and composition, and being at the right place and right time.
That just my 2 cent worth of advise.
Happy hunting!
Last edited by stingOM on Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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martinsmith99
Joined: 31 Aug 2008 Posts: 6950 Location: S Glos, UK
Expire: 2013-11-18
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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martinsmith99 wrote:
5Dmkii is a good camera by my picky standards.
Old clunky DSLRs make me very angry and are no fun for me at all. _________________ Casual attendance these days |
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eggboy
Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 190 Location: Western Massachusetts, USA
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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eggboy wrote:
The 1Ds is a brick in every sense of the word as others have mentioned
I've a 'classic' 5D, which is for me is quite a nice camera, but it's operation is fairly clunky compared to my recently lost 40D. A nice clean one will run US$1000+ and you should get a warranty for about another US$100 if you buy from one of the larger dealers. Which is a lot of money
I would agree with all the advice to stick with film for now. You could pick up a nice Pentax or even Canon F-1n for $200, a film scanner for about $250, and when you go with the Richtax/Pentoh FF dSLR, you could sell the old film camera for what you paid for it. And meanwhile have fun playing with a camera from the golden age of mechanical cameras..The F-1 is smooth as butter and you can get M42, Exakta and Nikon adaptors for it. _________________ Eugene
Current Fave Lenses:
Nikkor S.C 5cm/1.4 Rangefinder with Amadeo S>M Mount
Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 5cm/2 Contax RF c. 1937,
Nikkor-N 28/2 Nikon F mount
Digital Cameras:
Nikon Z 6II, Panasonic GX8
Film Cameras:
Ansco B2 6x9 Box Camera
Bronica S2
Nikon F2
List and a photo or two of my lens herd |
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